A Great, Great Morning

Sometimes I don’t know how badly I’m feeling until I experience relief.

I rose this morning and, first of all, I didn’t hear rain. Then, once the cats were fed, I went outside for wood and saw the moon. Today was getting off to a great start! I lit the fire and then opened up my computer. There was an email from Dr. Shoja.

This is what it didn’t say: “I am able to confirm an appointment at one pm on January nineteenth.” Instead, there were these two sentences: “I'm glad that we can do a zoom visit;” and “Looking forward to meeting with you.” Not only that, she opens with “Hi Chris.” I couldn’t wish for a more welcoming response to a request to confer.

She’s been at my side for almost five years. Five years! And it’s all free. I’m humbled by the medical system and her generosity of spirit. I could not wish for a finer psychiatrist and human being. The sense of welcome in her message, the absence of clinical indifference means a great, great deal to me. I feel so privileged to have her in my life, even though our meetings are rare now, is overwhelming. It feels so precious to me, I don’t count on it. I can’t. So, her choice of words exhilarates me.

Then I saw on my news feed that a black Baptist minister, Reverend Raphael Warnock, has defeated human waste Kelly Loeffler in Georgia, and that Democrat Jon Ossof was currently (barely) ahead of Republican David Purdue. I had this overwhelming sense of relief that decency was triumphing over hate and it made me cry. The world felt like a much better place this morning, regardless of the virus.

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Rain drenched us yesterday, but the wind didn’t reach storm velocity. I had power all through the day and night. Phew! Today and tomorrow are predicted to be dry, then eternal rain returns for another long stay. This is feeling biblical! 

And still no mail/books and many of the shelves of our grocery store are empty. There were little but canned and frozen goods remaining. Luckily for me, there were piles of Brussel Sprouts and so I came home happy to have some fresh vegetables, and I’ll check in again this morning on my return from taking Her Highness in for a grooming appointment.

The weather will keep my spirits high today and I’ll be conscious all day of my good fortune about seeing Dr. Shoja.